Story : Magus Congressus
The Lower Chamber :April 22 1220 The rectangular lower room was illuminated by glowing stones set in copper wire baskets hanging from the ceiling. A large, trapezoidal block of stone had been raised from the ground to form a table with a rectangular top. Likewise, cubic pillars had been raised to act as chairs, with a slab of stone along the back to provide some support for the magi as they talk. Some smokeless candles had been lit and spread around the table to provide extra light. Mnemosyne nodded in approval at the progress that had been made in the last couple of days. Ambrosius, Phaedrus and Bedo had worked together very well. She smiled tightly. It was a good sign for the future. If they could work together like this now, then the founding of the covenant was hopeful. She placed some sheaves of vellum on the table as well as some quills and ink from stores she had brought with her. The need for visual aids to describe some of the things her and Ambrosius had discovered was clear in her mind and perhaps the others would feel the same way as well. In any case, some magi might like to make notes. Once this was done, she took the seat nearest the door at the foot of the table, or the head if you preferred to look at it that way. The vellum upon the table still bore faintly scored ruling lines and pricks, and very pale inky blotches from where it had previously been used for other matters, and carefully scraped and powdered for re-use, and glowed in the flickering candle-light and steady cool illumination from the stones above. Ambrosius stepped out from behind a rather plain looking privacy wall in the far back corner. Dressed in his full magus' robes and hand crafted fine steel chain ornamentation, he barely looked like the young man who had been, just the previous day, stripped to the waist cutting and moving stones. His hair was cleaned and slicked back, tied into a braid and wrapped with the same fine steel chain. He was startled for a moment to find Mnemosyne there already, but recovered quickly. He took the seat to the Maga's left. "Good evening, Maga Mnemosyne." he began. "It's good to finally get this meeting underway!" he exclaimed, blowing a breath out noisily. He turned to Mnemosyne. "Actually, before we begin, I wanted to ask if you thought, well, maybe we'd best post a watch in the cottage above...I was thinking of your man, Geraldous, and perhaps Sandor? I'm a bit concerned about these event with the church, and I'd rather they not have the opportunity to barge in while we sit in deep discussion." Marcus joined them as well, dressed as usual in his simple friar's robes. He nodded pleasantly to the pair already seated and took the next available seat. Seemingly dressed in a gown of pale blue silk, with flowers in her gleaming black hair, Eirlys came in quietly and looked about. Instinctively, she glanced upwards and was relieved to see a skylight leading to the surface. She crossed the table to take the middle seat on the side opposite Ambrosius, and sat towards the front of her stone chair, where she could see the sky. Longinus was next to enter. His head was bowed, his arms crossed within the sleeves of his robe as usual but his normally spotless white robe was travelstained. He paused behind the empty pillar next to Ambrosius for almost a minute head still bowed. He then sat down carefully, shifting on the pillar as if settling into a more comfortable seat. He then raised his head, looked slowly around the room and spoke once, a greeting. "Salve, Magi." Bedo had made less effort to dress smartly for the meeting, although it was clear that he had washed the day's labours from him. He bustled down into the lower room, carring parchment, pens, and ink. He nodded politely to all present, looked at how the light lit the table, and carefully sat himself down, and set to at sharpening pens. "Have you planned a structure for this meeting Maga?" he asked Mnemosyne. "We have several reports which may be quite complex, about the sites we have visited, and from what I have gathered, the news of the mundane world will also be important. Would it perhaps be worth getting that matter dealt with first, as it may colour the reports we give on our wanderings? Although I am not a great illuminator, I am a reasonably competent scribe, so if you are chairing the meeting I am more than willing to take any notes" "As Quaesitor, I am happy to take the role of chair to our meetings, until we elect one of our number to do so," Mnemosyne acquiesed to Bedo's request. "I think we shall perhaps leave Marcus' report for last as that may in fact take more time the others. First, I shall set the grogs to see that we are undisturbed." She nodded at Ambrosius is acknowledgement of his advice and left the chamber for a short time see give the grogs their neccessary instructions. They were to keep a sharp look out for anyone approaching and were otherwise to be left undisturbed, unless told differently. She also set a guard on the door at the top of the stairs to make matters clear before returning to the chamber. fill in what you like here The Meeting Begins :April 21 1220 When all attending were seated and ready, Mnemosyne raised her open left hand and called for attention. "My fellow sodales, we once more meet to discuss our bold venture. Since we last met but a few days past much has happened which shall be important if we are to make the right decisions in these days ahead, which could have a profound affect on our futures for years to come." "Bedo ex Bonisagus and Phaedrus ex Miscellenius travelled east to investigate the site of Caer Caradoc for its potential as a site for our future covenant. Longinus ex Mercere and Eirlys ex Merinita investigated Hockstow Forest to the north, Ambrosius ex Verditus and myself came west, here to Long Mynd, and Marcus ex Jerbiton looked in around the village of Church Stretton." "I would like to now ask Bedo and Phaedrus to fill us in with the details of their endevours." Mnemosyne lowered her hand and nodded invitingly at Bedo then Phaedrus. Caractacus's fort Bedo began, "Phaedrus - please correct me if I make any mistakes, or miss anything out". "Sodales, The two of us, accompanied by Nenya, the cook, investigated the site of Caractacus's fort, on the top of Caer Caradoc, the sharp-edged hill that sits on the east side of the valley, north-east of Church Stretton. The is a moderate magical aura there, and some interesting features, but for a variety of reasons I shall recommend that we do not establish a covenant there. The prime one of these is that of location. The aura is limited to the area marked out by the ridge that delimits the old hill fort. That area is a long narrow area along the ridge of the hill, and any buildings constructed there would be in full view of the people of Church Stretton and any who pass along the road through the village." He paused, and looked around the group, his gaze resting on Eirlys the longest. "From what I have seen so far of the the reaction of the Bishop of Hereford, I suspect that building a covenant that close to as strictly religious a village as Church Stretton could be troublesome." Eirlys returned his gaze quizzically. "Buildings may be disguised, if you believe building rights may come into question with the townsfolk. Given perhaps--" she tapped her chin in thought for a moment, "--two seasons? I could devise a glamour by which a structure may be disguised or completely hidden... if the place has enough compelling features that it would otherwise make a good location for a covenant." she offered. "Please pose your questions at the correct time, once the speaker has finished," Mnemosyne requested of Eiryls in response to her interruption, hand raised to signify her chairing of the meeting. "It is a good question though. Please, pray continue with your report Bedo and analysis." She dropped her hand. "Buildings may be disguised - but it is all work and power we do not need to spend as we start. The Dominion aura is strong in the village, we would come and go and be seen, our track would be noticed, it is all too close to too many people - that is my opinion anyway, but if we have found nowhere else suitable, I might have to think again. Other features I shall summarise, please ask me if you require further details. Water - there is a pool which seems to be more than just rainwater. It bears further investigation, as I feel it may be fed by magic. It might be an adequate water supply - it might not. Access - difficult. It's a steep walk, with no decent track. A proper cart track would need to be built. Neighbours - apart from Church Stretton, we could see other small settlements in the forested hills to the East. It's much closer land over there than up here on the Mynd. Oh, and there's a fell creature lives in a cave in the stream on the way up, who attacked us, and has killed at least one other person. We should investigate it further, and probably destroy her. It might do us some good with Church Stretton. My feeling is that the fort is a place we may find useful, but not one where we should want to live. It also is within sight of this place, should we settle here, so can easily be reached, should we need it." "I have two things to add here," Phaedrus broke in, " I had a closer look at the spring that feeds the pool, it had good fresh water, probably even healthy, and was enough to suply drinking water for a covenant but probably not washing water. There is good bedrock for building or digging," with a nod towards Eirlys he continued, " but a rather stiff walk to any trees and those are outside the aura." Then Phaedrus sat back to let Bedo finish. "Apart from that place, we took a look at the castle down the valley to the south. It's quite modern, but seems to be hardly garrisoned. My gess is it was built in case the Welsh attacked this far east, but the troops are currently further west." He sat back, and looked around the group, inviting questions. Ambrosius sat forward, stuttering slightly, "Sodalis, you did not mention, ummmm....did either of you have the opportunity to check for the existence of a regio?" "Yes, indeed" Bedo replied "No regio up there, just a reasonable aura, although I could see that there was a regio somewhere over here on the Long Mynd. No others either I could see from up there, although the view was very good." Ambrosius nodded appreciatively. Mnemosyne raised her hand again, drawing attention back to her. "Do you believe this creature to be a danger to the town, and do you think it is magical in nature? What can you tell us about it?" she asked Bedo and Phaedrus. Bedo nodded, and replied, "A black haired woman that lives and breathes under water - some type of hag? She tried to grab me and pull me in, but Phaedrus cast something that loosened her grip for a moment. As to her danger to the vill - she has a corpse there, but it may well be someone who tried to cross the stream as we did. We left what we could as markers to warn people away, but didn't see how we could warn the village, even via Marcus, without explaining what we were doing there." "Do you think this creature could be a potential source of vis, or did you see any other indications that anything in the area of Caer Caradoc could harbour any desirable resources or potential gain?" Mnemosyne asked. Bedo grinned slightly "At the time I was more worrying about not being drowned by her, but yes 'tis possible. My thoughts are more for the hilltop on that score, and the pool of water in particualr. It would be well to search the entire area of the fort more thoroughly, and the hillside around it too, to see if there is any apparent cause of the aura." "Well," Phaedrus adds, " I could not leave that creature without having a look at it's hidingplace, and it had another body in there with it so it definitely seems like a threat to people from the village." "To people from the village, who wander up Caer Caradoc, certainly" Bedo agreed. "How likely would that be?" Eirlys asked, skeptical. "Bedo thought it difficult to come up with a reason to give as to why anyone was in the area; that seems to imply that the locale is not well-travelled. If the water does indeed have mystical properties, it may possess some qualities that are preserving an ancient corpse, so the body's presence might not indicate that the creature has killed someone recently... especially if the place is remote as it sounds. I believe it would be wise to take time to research the creature thoroughly, prior to taking any action. For all we know, she's Caradog's wife, under some Roman curse." she hypothesized. "I'm inclined to agree with you Eirlys" Bedo replied "It's not very remote, only half an hour's walk from Stretton Church, but on a path unlikely to be taken regularly. It goes east between Caer Caradoc and the hills to the south of it, but it appears from our return journey that the main track east goes to the south of those hills to a place called Hope Bowdler." Ambrosius looked extremely uncomfortable as he disagreed. "Sodalis," he asked Bedo, "How unlikely need it be? You have already reported a body there, and....ummm....despite theory to the contrary, it is more even more unlikely to be an ancient corpse or, ah, curse. No, while I agree we need to learn more of this creature before we take any action, it is a creature that we are best equipped to deal with, and need to do so before it kills again." Eirlys smiled gently. "In things of magic, things are least likely to be what they seem," she said. "Caradog is a figure about whom human visitors would sing fantastic songs of and tell great tales when they came to our court. If the mountain is named for this man of legend, then any magical creatures there, dangerous or no, might be..." she trailed off, trying to think of the right words, before shaking her head with a helpless grin. "I suppose I'm not quite sure what I'm trying to say, precisely. Regardless, I would propose a course of action which would address both the views of those who would be slow to act, and those who would act immediately. As the creature is aquatic, it should be a simple matter to confine her, or otherwise block off access to her pool from above. In this manner we may ensure she does not kill, buying ourselves time to discover who and what she is, before taking any other action whose consequences would be permanent. 'Twould be a shame to destroy the creature for fear of the danger, only to discover later that she was not as we inferred from the circumstances." Mnemosyne drew attention back to herself once more with a raised hand. "Your thoughts appreciated, Eirlys. This is not the time for speculation, nor are we debating methods of... neutralising any danger it may present, Ambrosius, though again your point for a need to reach a decision as soon as possible is an important one. We are discussing the facts of Caer Caradoc." She looked around. "Does anyone else have questions or desire clarification on Bedo and Phaedrus' report?" Longinus, whose once more bowed head and hunched shoulders spoke volumes, looked up once at Mnemosyne and gave a small shake of his head. Please stick in any more stuff here, especially if Longinus has any comments Hockstow Forest Once the previous report had been presented, heard, questioned, expanded and debated, Mnemosyne moved on to the next item of business. "If Eirlys and Longinus would now fill us in with what they discovered in Hockstow Forest." Longinus looked up immediately, shoulders straightening as he turned to Eirlys. "Maga" he said inclining his head briefly. "Would you care to go first?" She shrugged and gave an odd, enigmatic expression. "Truth be told, I'm quite uncomfortable being so far removed from the border where Terram and Auram meet--" she glanced up through the skylight instinctively, "And besides that, I haven't quite grasped all the structure intended for a 'formal' meeting. As such, I can tell you all my impressions of the place, but Longinus would be more apt to the formulaic meeting, so as not to make mistakes in format or otherwise give offense to those who did not reveal they bore titles of royalty." She gave an unreadable look to Bedo, then turned to look at Longinus, whose shrouded guise gave her no indication of what she was supposed to do, so she stood and began to speak. Mnemosyne made a gesture to continue with the subject in hand, as Bedo looked over to her, and made a very small puzzled-looking shrug in her direction. "If my sodales would not mind engaging in open discussion about our findings, I confess that would be more conducive for me to sort my thoughts," she began. "If you have any questions or require clarification (as I know the cultural differences make your speech sometimes confusing to me, and I can imagine the converse may hold true as well), please do not hesitate to ask. "The Hockestow Forest is a place of mystery. Like Bedo and Phaedrus' findings, while the forest has some desirable qualities, those are offset by a number of drawbacks. It is a grand forest, with a respectable faerie aura. It is secluded and difficult to traverse for human legs, which could be either a boon or a hindrance, depending on circumstance. The foliage is quite thick, and with one known exception, sufficient lighting is an issue for... any but Phaedrus and myself, I suspect. The forest is likely to be viewed with suspicion and contempt by the humans of the area, as displayed by the wanton destruction in a glade we found within, burned to the ground and smelling of suffering and pain." Anger flared in her violet eyes even as they glistened with moisture. "I shall have to insist that you look to Longinus for any further description of that clearing if you desire it, as I shall become quite irrational and upset if I dwell upon it," she said with a thick voice. Mnemosyne raised an eyebrow at the obvious display at emotion which overcame Eirlys. She filed it away for later pursuit, with other questions. Longinus interrupted. "Maga, you asked that this be a discussion, so I hope you do not mind if I interrupt now with a question?" "So long as it pertains to our report, I mind not," she replied. "I will provide an objective description of the clearing later, but can you explain the scents, suffering, and pain, and how they can be present in a long-abandoned camp with no other evidence of violence or...anything?" She crossed her eyes with annoyance. "While you've already made quite clear your disdain for Herbam..." Longinus' face went flat and hard. "...I do not believe this is either the place or the time to describe how death smells. Suffice to say that the death of sentient life, for any purpose outside of the normal cycle of life and death, leaves an imprint-- and when Herbam or Animal has been the victim of that destruction and death, that imprint is quite tangible to the fair folk. Especially within our own realm. With your leave, I will now continue divulging the pertinent information." Ambrosius shifted noisily in his seat, clearing his throat in the process, while Mnemosyne merely observed the by-play without comment or expression. Without waiting for a reply, she continued. "The only area we found of a magical nature was the remains of what we both believe to be a destroyed covenant from the Schism War. It bears a magical aura, though no regio. The place has been burned quite thoroughly, and it reeks of ancient evil and death. One would imagine that anything of magical interest would have already been taken by its conquerors, but we may wish to inspect the place anyway, in case any relics of Hermetic interest might remain. There is one thing of interest which does remain, likely due to its immobility... an ancient monolith, with old carvings that form what seem to be instructions..." Her face brightened perceptibly as she spoke of it. "I believe the pillar bears great magics within, and its secrets seem to be unlocked with music and dance. I interpreted the first ring of instructions as best I could from what I know of dancing among my people (and believe you me, that if there's one thing all fey know, it's how to dance about in circles), and as a result the glade became illuminated with a magical light. From what I can tell by the carvings, each consecutive level of its magics are accessed by the addition of more dancers, and increasingly greater complexity of the dance. My curiosity is piqued and I should like to know what other secrets lie within the monolith, but I expect that it would require, ah..." she glanced at each of the magi, gauging the carriage and bearing of each, "It is like to require them that care for dancing. Mnemsyne sat impassive as ever, her face a cold mask as she listened on. "I don't believe any place we saw to be suitable for building a covenant. It was..." a look of puzzlement crossed her face, "It just doesn't make any sense. A faerie aura cannot be sustained without belief, and belief cannot be sustained without faerie life to feed it, or by itself spawning that life. The faerie aura remained constant throughout the entire forest with only the one exception, yet there were no signs of any faerie life whatsoever... something isn't right, there. Also, by nature of being a faerie forest, it would be quite unwise to cut down any trees, for normal trees are not like mundane ones, but are almost always sentient and aware. Such would not be conducive to building, of course. Also, within the forest we found no water sources which I think sufficient for sustaining an entire covenant, although this is but an uneducated guess." She shrugged, turning to Longinus. "That's all I can think of; can you think of anything to add?" Longinus stood, his face set and hard, voice clipped, although both voice and face softened perceptibly as he became immersed in his report. "It took us the best part of a days travel to get to the edge of the forest first by cart, later by foot with Eirlys flying on ahead. A useful skill that, indeed" he said with a sharp nod to Eirlys. "The edge of the forest is a clear and fairly abrupt boundary and the foliage grows thick at the perimeter almost like a protective wall. From what we could see it looked... undisturbed. Unusual from what I understand. Once we had forced our way through this outer zone," he paused for a moment, glancing at Eirlys, then continued, "the way became a little easier, though not much. Eirlys spent most of the time aloft, assisting our route selection. We found few natural or unnatural for that matter, tracks through the forest. There was the occasional clearing, mostly it seemed natural formations around fallen trees." "Late on the first evening we came upon the first signs of ...habitation. A clearing, larger than the others, had clearly contained some sort of camp. This I assume is the first clearing Eirlys mentioned. It appeared to me to perhaps be the camp of a party of charcol burners or somesuch, possibly even outlaws. As best I could tell it has been abandoned perhaps only this last winter, and may have been maintained for several years before that. The one path leading out of it headed deeper into the Forest." Longinus paused for thought. Mnemosyne raised her hand to attract Longinus' attention and he nodded acknowledgement of her right to speak. "Just to clarify here, you saw no signs of recent life in the forest at all? No human or faerie agencies only? Or including base animal life as well?" She looked between Longinus and Eirlys both for a response. "To my knowledge that is substantially correct Maga. No recent life, fae, human or animal" replied Longinus. "If I recall correctly, Aloysius mentioned the small animal paths not having been in recent use. Eirlys may have seen more than I however." He turned back to face Eirlys with a raised eyebrow. When Eirlys made no move to answer, Longinus continued. "We stopped for the night and made camp not long after, although I was already slightly uneasy at our surroundings. The next morning we forged deeper yet into the forest and it seemed to me that the trees gradually grew until they seemed impossibly large. The further we progressed in the bigger the trees got – or the smaller we got, who knows. I also had the feeling of being watched, although I saw no evidence of any watchers." "Mid-afternoon we first encountered a Hermetic presence. I must confess that hints I had gathered from House records had led me to believe the possibility existed that a Covenant was located in the Hockestowe Forest prior to the Schism War. We ran into what appeared to be a Hermetic Ward. Aloysius, fae that he is, could not pass. Neither could our armsmen Sandor or Llewellyn. Both Eirlys and I could pass the ward without difficulty. I surmise that it was something akin to a combination of Ward against the Curious Skullion, a Ward Agaisnt Mundane Beasts and a Ward against Fae. The ward appeared to be a very large circular shape and followed a small depression in the ground." His face grew grimmer again. "At this stage I made my first major mistake. I have gone over this in my mind and I can do naught but beg forgiveness from you all." With a flat voice he continued. "Eirlys indicated that she wished to throw around some blind Perdo Vim spells and perhaps I should give her some space. I was thinking on the nature of the ward itself at the time and did not pay enough attention to her words." "Llewllyn and I followed the edge of the ward around until we were well separated and then I conducted my own investigations into the nature of the ward. After a short time of testing the ward from both sides, I extended my Parma Magica over Llewellyn and we continued in to the interior. Inside the ward the Aura was definitely Magic rather than faerie, though for low levels of Aura my gift seems to cope well enough with fae aura’s that I find it difficult to notice the difference." "Inside the ward I found the carved monolith Eirlys has already described, though it was covered with a thick layer of ivy and little of the carvings could initially be seen. Also in sight were a collection of ruins. Scattered amongst the ruins, and indeed, apparently the reason for them, were a large collection of craters. There were two distinct types of crater, one shaped like the bottom of a perfect sphere – I surmise a Perdo effect, and one that was more like an irregular explosion, broader and shallower – possibly an ignem effect, though any fire damage is now long gone now barring some blackened stone." "Not a single structure was untouched save one, even the pillar was leaning at an odd angle. The one untouched structure was an extraordinary enormous block of Obsidian. It is the size and shape of a low tower, perfectly flat on top. Strangely there was absolutely no detritus on top of the tower, despite the whole lying within the remnants of what must have been a truly enormous tree." "While I investigated the ruins and tower, Eirlys danced at the pillar which glowed as she danced, conveniently providing good light for my investigations despite the onset of twilight. My investigations were necessarily brief though as the hour was late. It is possible there could still be artifacts, information or …almost anything really, still hidden amongst the ruins of the old covenant. When Eirlys was finished dancing we argued over where to sleep the night and she left." "After she left, my investigations found the ward to no longer be working. It had been formed of a buried copper wire which I found excavated and broken cleanly." "Llewelyn and I slept the night within the old grounds of the covenant and hurried out of the forest the next day." As he paused for breath, Bedo raised his hand, and interrupted. "This obviously isn't a quaesitorial investigation, or anything official of the sort, but I'd just like to clarify something here. Something sounds dangerous to me, and I'd just like to have it clear in my head exactly what happened. You've said that you and Eirlys argued, and that she left. You've not actually said that she broke the ward but you've said that you found it broken, and you've said earlier you left her to cast some Perdo spells. Did she say anything to indicate that she'd broken it before she left, and, to get the sequence straight, did you discover that it was broken before or after you slept the night there? I'm n-not sure whether I should be asking this of you or Eirlys, but I'm trying to ascertain whether you eventually decided to sleep there knowing that you weren't protected by the ward, or whether its protection was removed from you with you unknowing?" "It is as I said" relied Longinus. "Eirlys did not say she had broken it, but indicated it was already broken as our argument concluded. After she left I investigated the ward and found it no longer working and the circle broken. Llewellyn and I slept within the Ruined Covenant rather than within the fae forest knowing full well that the ward was broken." The satyr frowned. "I told him the ward was broken when we rejoined them within. Later, a bit past dusk yet long before the time for fleecing clouds, Longinus stated he wished to rest-- citing a desire to sleep within the ward I'd previously told him was no more. I did remind him this was not the case, before embarking upon the journey back. I do not appreciate being called a liar, but it is no responsibility of my own if another chooses to disbelieve that which I've told him." Ambrosius sat forward. "Maga Eirlys, please be calm. I, do not recall anyone even, um, inferring you to be a liar, but I – ah - must note that you have neither confirmed nor denied that you did break the ward. Did you? Did you come upon this ward in the Hockestow and decide to break it?" "Ah good", Bedo responded, "Whether or not Eirlys broke it, she did ensure you knew before resting there that it was destroyed". He nodded to Longinus, satisfied. "Now, as to you" he said, looking at Eirlys, "As Ambrosius has said, I have not called you a liar, neither have I as, as you seemed to infer earlier, claimed to be of Royal blood. I see little point continuing this meeting if accusations such as those are thrown around at random. A location for a covenant is moot if a covenant would be impossible to form through mistrust. I am not demanding an apology, but would you just withdraw both the remarks as inaccurate, or, if either were directed at someone else make that clear?" "Hear, hear." Murmured Longinus almost inaudibly. (Eirlys?) Longinus continued. "We made faster time going out than in, for we did not stop to investigate anything and I could feel the watchers in the woods once more. We made it out of the wood late yesterday afternoon and rested overnight close to the foot of the northern end of the Mynd before returning here this morning." "As to my thoughts on the ruined covenant, it seems obvious that it was destroyed by a violent magical attack during the schism war. The destruction was easily centuries old. However the Pillar and the ward remained active, as did the magical aura. I saw no evidence of any habitation since that time, nor any particular Evil. As for death, I cannot say anything beyond the evidence of a magical battle. I suspect that the obsidian pillar was left behind by the victors." "For the ward itself, it seemed designed to keep out mundanes and low-might creatures of fae and possibly other realms. However I think that any Covenant situated within such a mighty fae-forest as Hockestowe must once have, and still may, would have needed some sort of agreement with the Fae Lords. For one thing I doubt that a general ward such as we met could easily keep such out, and for another a covenant beseiged by the fae within a fae-forest must surely have a hard time of it even were they able to ward themselves sufficiently. Whatever the ward was however, it is no more." "For the lack of creatures we saw in the forest, I do not find that at all strange. I’d imagine a lumbering group such as the three of us would be easily avoided by mundane creatures and fae alike should they wish. Certainly I could feel their eyes upon me for much of the journey." Eirlys shook her head. "Indeed, it would be conceivable not to see any fey. What strikes me as odd, even wrong about the place, is that I saw no recent signs that any life had ever been there, fey or otherwise. Every track Aloysius found was stale. It is possible that the fae of the place may have hidden their tracks from us, but to see no signs of animal life either?" She frowned. "Something happened there, something ill... and not so long ago. I'd wager my middle name on it." Longinus paused, waiting for any other comment before continuing again. "For general thoughts as to the suitability of the old site as a covenant location, I think there is much to be investigated yet. I do not have the arts or inclination to be a good investigator, and without wishing to malign Maga Eirlys, I do not think she has a suitable temperament. Certainly both the obsidian tower and the carved pillar need more investigation. For the founding, or refounding of a covenant I think an accommodation with the Fae Lords should be a necessity. The site is nicely isolated – given the vis I could raise a tower there immediately and no mundane lord would have any idea. If anything, a fae wood, being older and wilder, is one of the better places to look for vis sources and the ancient covenant surely had some. I did not see any stream or brook but a number of the craters from the battle had substantial water pooled in them. I suspect that with an agreement with any Fae Lords, our basic necessities of food, shelter and water would not be difficult to obtain. For my part, the site holds great promise, but much will depend on relationships with the fae. Judging by the reactions of the one fae we know to have been present, that promise may be wasted. He hesitated for a moment then continued. On the other hand, one ‘foreign’ fae reaction may be a poor indication of any response if the enthusiastic reunion of fae with fae may be taken into account. That is all I have to say for now." Finished, Longinus sat down wearily. "For my part, I would be willing to treat with any fey nobility, should they in fact, still live," Eirlys responded with a trace of sadness which indicated she did not think it likely that they did. "It would of course, be best to have Phaedrus treat with the summer lords, and I with the winter, as any arrangements would require the consent of both courts," she said with a quick inquiring glance to Phaedrus. "Yet before any decisions are made that this site be the place to build upon, I would recommend a more thorough search for water and signs of animal life, for I believe food and water would be difficult to come by. Aloysius is quite a competent hunter, and during our stay there, he had to eat from my own rations. The pools of water Longinus spoke of seemed quite stagnant-- collected rainwater, I suspect, upon which I should not want to pin the survival of many." "So," said Mnemosyne, hand raised. "To clarify things, the monolith you found was in the same location as the ruins inside the warded area and appeared to a physical examination to have been undisturbed in centuries - with the possible exception of the obsidian structure. Do you believe that this site was warded to keep the fae out, or that rather, it was designed to keep something in? Perhaps some remnant of something left over from the Schism Wars?" Longinus looked up and replied clearly and distinctly. "I have thought about this, as Eirlys posed much the same question. My answer now is much as it was then. I cannot see that it served any purpose but to keep the lesser fae and unwelcome mundanes out. The ward did not appear to be of great strength as the shared parmaof an apprentice was enough for a mundane to pass. Thus it seems to me that it could not be designed to ward, in either direction, against strong magical forces. The Aura inside was definitely magical, so it surely did not keep some strong non-magical entity enclosed. The ward was covered a significant area, much greater than the near-covenant grounds. I would have expected an emprisoning ward to be... smaller, contrasting with a clear-the-riffraff ward which I would expect to be as large as one could make it." ---- Category:1220 1220Q2 12200422 Category:Mnemosyne Category:Ambrosius Category:Eirlys Category:Phaedrus Category:Bedo Category:Marcus Category:Longinus